


Something Magical

by slightlytookish



Category: The Book of Mormon - Parker/Stone/Lopez
Genre: Canon Compliant, Crushes, Dancing, Dating, Demisexuality, Disney References, First Dates, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Misunderstandings, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-21
Updated: 2017-01-21
Packaged: 2018-09-18 23:59:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9408428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slightlytookish/pseuds/slightlytookish
Summary: If someone had told Kevin Price before his mission that someday he'd make a list of Awesome Date Ideas because he wanted to ask out his district leader, he wouldn't have believed them. The only problem was, he couldn't think of any awesome date ideas. He couldn't even think of any mediocre date ideas. Clearly, Disney was the answer.





	

If someone had told Kevin Price before his mission that someday he'd make a list of Awesome Date Ideas because he wanted to ask out his district leader, he wouldn't have believed them. And yet here he was, balancing a notebook on his knees in the middle of the night while he scribbled down his thoughts.

Well. He'd managed to write down the title, at least. And underline it. Twice. The only problem was, Kevin didn't have any awesome date ideas. He didn't even have any mediocre date ideas. He had no ideas at all, which was extremely irritating because Kevin was used to having ideas. He was used to having incredible ideas, in fact, with the exception of every single terrible idea he'd had during his first week in Uganda.

But now he was completely stuck, which wasn't really all that surprising considering that Kevin had absolutely no idea how to date someone. It wasn't something that he'd ever wanted to do, before. He'd never even _liked_ anyone the way he liked Elder McKinley, before. And he certainly had no idea how to woo him.

"You could probably start by not saying 'woo,'" Arnold said, because the lights out rule had been one of the first ones broken when District 9 was shut down, and there was no one Kevin trusted more to listen to his troubles than Arnold Cunningham. "I don't think anyone uses that word anymore, except for the people in those weird old movies my mom likes to watch. You know, the kind where everyone's wearing a bonnet."

"That's why I called it dating, see? 'Awesome Date Ideas.' The only problem is, I can't think of a single thing. This is hopeless."

"Come on, buddy, be positive!" Arnold reached across the small space between their beds and made a grab for the notebook. Kevin didn't even try to stop him. "Elder McKinley will like anything you pick, because he already likes you."

"I don't know," Kevin said, because he _didn't_. He liked to think that McKinley liked him back but it was hard to tell sometimes. McKinley was an outgoing and affectionate person but he was like that with everyone, all the time, and Kevin could never tell if the warm smiles and lingering pats on the back that McKinley seemed to give him more than anyone else were really just friendly, or meant to be something more. 

(He hoped they were something more).

"Yeah, he does! He's always checking out your butt."

"Arnold!" 

"Well, it's true," Arnold said with a shrug. "He does it all the time, you just can't see it because it's your own butt. He did it tonight at dinner when you dropped your fork, everyone noticed. Hey, why are you hiding?"

"I'm not hiding," Kevin said, even as Arnold pried his hands away from his face.

"Stop. Listen. Since Elder McKinley already likes you, he'll like any date you ask him on because it'll mean that he's getting to spend time with you. That's all dating is, anyway, when you think about it. Well, that and some other stuff."

Kevin was most certainly not going to ask about that other stuff; he had no desire to know exactly what Arnold and Nabulungi did when they disappeared together for hours on end. His face already felt like it was on fire. But still, what Arnold said made him feel a little better. If it was just about spending time together, well, that didn't seem too difficult. And yet, it didn't seem like enough, either. "But I want it to be something special, not just a walk to the market or whatever. Elder McKinley deserves something special."

He thought about it long enough that Arnold started to doze, only startling awake when he woke himself up with a snore. He handed back the notebook, curling up on his side to face Kevin, and yawned tremendously. "Well, what would be a really cool and special date for you? If you think it's cool, then Elder McKinley probably will too." 

And that's what Kevin didn't know, because he'd never been on a date, special or not. "I don't know. Something magical, I guess. Wait a minute. That's it!"

"That's what?" Arnold said drowsily. "You thought of something?"

"A few somethings," Kevin said, grabbing his pen. "I just had the best idea. Disney-themed dates! What could be more magical than that?"

Arnold yawned again. "What do you mean, like wearing matching Mickey hats?" 

"Not exactly. More like, dates the Disney princes would have organized. Dates they _did_ organize, in the movies. It'll be perfect."

Arnold merely hummed in response, already mostly asleep, but Kevin stayed up much later, carefully outlining every idea. He was going to take Elder McKinley on the best and most magical dates ever seen outside of a fairy tale.

A magic carpet ride was obviously impossible, and they had no spaghetti in the mission hut that could be used to reenact the Lady and the Tramp scene. But never let it be said that Kevin Price wasn't determined. 

Disney was always the answer. It hadn't steered Kevin wrong yet.

*

When Kevin started thinking about potential Disney dates, the first movie that came to mind was The Little Mermaid. Maybe it was because of Elder McKinley's hair, which wasn't as red as Ariel's but certainly was red enough. Whatever the reason was, Kevin kept thinking about the montage of Ariel and Eric's day in the village. More specifically, he kept coming back to their carriage ride. It was the perfect idea for a first date – something special, something (hopefully) romantic, and something that would give them some much-needed but all-too-rare time alone. And best of all, it was something he could manage to pull off even with the limited resources at hand in Kitguli.

It took Kevin a few days to make all the arrangements but he thought the end result was pretty awesome, if he did say so himself. Okay, fine, no one in the village actually had a fancy carriage for him to borrow, but Gotswana had a cart and a donkey to pull it.

It was going to be _incredible_.

Kevin approached McKinley one morning, after breakfast but before the usual time that he gave all the elders their daily assignments. Their district might have been formally shut down but they had all stayed to help and there was always work to be done, and McKinley was still their district leader, guiding them through it all. "Elder McKinley? I borrowed Gotswana's cart and I was wondering if you'd like to go for a ride in it? Today? With me?"

His heart was pounding so loudly that he was sure McKinley would hear it, and wouldn't that be embarrassing? But McKinley's eyes lit up and if he noticed Kevin's nerves, he was too polite to mention it. "Oh, Elder Price, I would love to!"

And that was – well. Kevin had wanted to make McKinley happy but a response this enthusiastic was more than he'd ever hoped for. He couldn't help preening, just a bit. 

"What a wonderful idea, Elder!" McKinley went on, still beaming at him. "You've come up with the perfect solution for those books."

All at once, Kevin felt himself deflate. "Wait, what?"

"The books," McKinley said, gesturing to the four large and very heavy boxes of Books of Arnold that had been sitting in a corner of the kitchen for the past week, waiting to be delivered to the next village. "Of course I'll come and help you distribute them today."

"Um, well, actually-"

"Now, at breakfast Elder Cunningham mentioned something about teaching the children some new verses today from the Parable of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Elder Thomas can go and help him with that, and you and I will deliver the books," he went on, already changing the assignments on the sheet before hanging it up beside the chalkboard. "Those boxes have really been in the way; I think I've tripped over them every single morning this week. Oh, I'm so happy you thought of this, Elder Price. You've made my day!"

He rested his hand on Kevin's shoulder and gave him one of his warm and encouraging smiles, and Kevin tried really hard not to see this as a disappointment. They were still going on their carriage – okay, cart – ride, he was still going to go on his date – his first date ever! – with Elder McKinley. So what if they had to deliver some books along the way? They were still going to have an amazing time.

And it was fun, even if Gotswana's cart was a rickety old thing and meant to be pulled by two donkeys, not one. But the other donkey had died (Kevin remembered that, Gotswana had dragged it right in front of him and Arnold when they first arrived in Kitguli) and this donkey, while still in good health, pulled the cart very slowly. It took twice as long to get to the next village than it should have, but that just meant more time spent with Elder McKinley, Kevin reasoned. 

The slow speed didn't seem to bother McKinley at all. In fact, he was the happiest Kevin had ever seen him, chattering away and occasionally singing a line or two of songs that Kevin didn't know, but still enjoyed hearing. It was nice seeing him like this, so much more carefree than he usually was, and maybe this date wasn't turning out to be the fairy tale version that Kevin had imagined but it was still kind of magical, in its own way.

Everything was wonderful, especially when Kevin saw how happy the villagers were to finally receive their copies of the Book. He promised them that Prophet Cunningham himself would visit next time and read the story of Joseph Smith's battle with diarrhea to them (that tale had been a hit in this particular village ever since Nabulungi had texted it to them months ago) and McKinley even took out his little notebook and pencil and wrote down their messages to the Prophet, to share with Arnold later. They didn't stay very long in the village; it had taken them so long to get there, and there were a few dark clouds gathering in the distance, but everything else was going so well that Kevin supposed he shouldn't really mind. 

Without the weight of the boxes the cart moved much more smoothly on the way home. McKinley kept smiling over at Kevin every few minutes, and Kevin was just starting to wonder if it would be okay to reach for McKinley's hand when they hit a bump in the road and one of the front wheels came right off the cart, tipping the whole thing to one side and nearly pitching them both into the dirt.

And since neither one of them had any idea how to fix it, and the poor donkey couldn't pull it anymore in this condition, he and McKinley had to help push the cart all the way back to Kitguli.

And then it started raining before they were even halfway there.

And then it wasn't magical at all.

*

Kevin's idea for their second date seemed promising enough. It was true that he couldn't manage a boat ride, but he could make a bunch of paper lanterns, and the lanterns themselves were the most magical part of that scene in Tangled anyway (Kevin might have cried the first time he saw it, but he'd never admit it). And best of all, this date could take place at the mission hut, so they wouldn't be at the mercy of donkeys and bumpy roads. All Kevin had to do was make the paper lanterns. How difficult could that be?

Very difficult, as it turned out, and more than once Kevin thought resentfully that Flynn Rider hadn't had to make the lanterns himself. But he persevered, as he always did, and eventually he had ten lanterns that didn't look exactly like the ones in Tangled, but were acceptable enough even for Kevin's admittedly quite high standards. They looked even better once he hid the more lopsided lanterns behind the nicer ones. 

And then it was just a matter of waiting for the right moment – a clear evening, with as few of the other elders around as possible. The first was easy enough, but the latter was basically impossible. They were always around. But often in the evenings, McKinley would work alone in his office and the others would read or study together in the living room – well, in theory. In reality one was more likely to find Elder Michaels knitting and Elder Zelder playing with a paddleball and all the rest playing jacks or marbles on the floor. 

Nonetheless, it was all the distraction Kevin needed; once settled in for the evening, the others never left the living room. All he had to do was line up all the lanterns in the patch of dirt that served as the mission hut's backyard – unlit, because as beautiful as they were sure to look, Kevin knew better than to leave them unattended – and go inside to get Elder McKinley.

What Kevin hadn't anticipated was all of the other elders finding the lanterns in the two minutes it took for him to ask Elder McKinley to join him outside the mission hut.

"Wow, Elder Price, I can't believe you made all of these!" Elder Davis said, picking through the lanterns and handing one to Elder Church before taking one for himself. 

Kevin's heart sank. "Wait, how did you-"

"Elder Neeley noticed you sneaking off to set them up," Elder Thomas explained as he reached for one. "It was so nice of you to make one for each of us!"

Beside him, Elder Neeley gave Kevin an enthusiastic thumbs up. Kevin had to take a deep breath to try and calm himself before he could speak again.

"Um, guys, these were actually-" Kevin trailed off because out of the corner of his eye he saw McKinley step forward, his hands clasped together over his heart. For a moment it looked like there were tears in his eyes, but then he turned to Kevin with a smile.

"Oh my gosh, Elder Price, this is so sweet. We haven't done anything together as a group for so long, I guess we've all been working so hard lately that we've forgotten. We haven't even had a game night in over a month! Thank you for reminding me of the importance of spending time together as a group, Elder."

"No problem," Kevin said, forcing himself to smile. "Any time."

Arnold bounded over and pulled Kevin into a hug, nearly crushing the lantern he was holding between them. "You never told me you knew how to make these! I have the coolest best friend in the whole world. Maybe someday you could make them again, and I can give one to Nutella?"

He looked up at Kevin expectantly. McKinley's grin grew even wider. And the tightness eased in Kevin's chest until he felt his smile relax into something that felt more genuine.

"Sure, buddy, whenever you want," he said. Arnold squeezed him even tighter before letting go, and when Kevin turned back to McKinley, he was still smiling at him.

"Now," he said, reaching for the last two lanterns and handing one to Kevin. Of course they were the two most lopsided ones, the ones Kevin had tried to hide behind the rest. "Should we light them?"

And it was nice, Kevin supposed, spending time with his mission brothers and seeing everyone looking so cheerful, even when the lanterns wouldn't stay lit for more than a few minutes before flickering out. They were still kind of pretty, floating away in a light breeze in the growing twilight, while everyone watched until they couldn't see them anymore. 

It was nice, but when they all went back inside Kevin got out his notebook and crossed out Awesome Date #2 on his list.

He had another one to plan. 

*

For their last date Kevin decided to pull out all the stops and organize a Cinderella ball.

Well… the District 9 version of a Cinderella ball.

After what had happened with the lanterns, Kevin knew it would be next to impossible to arrange something just for himself and Elder McKinley. Secrets were difficult to keep in the mission hut; people were always around and unless he wanted to borrow Gotswana's cart again (and he really didn't), he knew that his chances of being alone with McKinley were slim to none. So, he figured, why not include everyone in his next big plan?

It was a Cinderella ball only in that it was a party, and a dance. The mission hut was far from a palace, and there was no fairy godmother around to transform their uniforms into fancy clothes. But the dancing part of it was the most important of all because Kevin knew how much McKinley loved to dance and while he had never really enjoyed dancing himself, he thought he might like it better if he had a chance to dance with Elder McKinley. 

Nothing about the ball was a secret, so everyone was involved from the beginning. Nabulungi and Sadaka arrived early in the afternoon, carrying armfuls of brightly colored fabric in bold patterns, and hung them on clotheslines all around the mission hut's backyard. The elders dragged their dining room table and chairs outside, and then went down to the village, returning with Ghali and Mutumbo and enough benches and stools so that everyone would have a place to sit later. Kimbay and her schoolchildren arrived with decorations, ribbons that they hung from the branches of the one scrawny tree in the yard, and garlands that they draped over the table. There was music courtesy of the radio borrowed from the Kafe and there was a whole table of food, including a "poptart lasagna" for dessert that consisted of slices of fruit layered with poptarts and which only could have been dreamed up by one person. At the last moment Arnold ran inside for some chalk and drew an enormous clock on the side of the mission hut, to "make it more Cinderella-y," as he'd put it

The patch of dirt behind the mission hut was still a patch of dirt, but Kevin thought it did look pretty magical, like this.

Absolutely no one was surprised when Elder McKinley started the dancing, except for maybe Kalimba, whose laughter carried over the music as McKinley led her around the yard in an enthusiastic foxtrot. That was all that the others who were inclined to dance needed to join in, and while most of the other elders lurked around the food table like they probably had during school dances back home, Elder Church started doing the robot with a bunch of the children, and Arnold shocked everyone, including himself, by being the one to ask Nabulungi to dance. 

For the first time since he'd stepped on Ugandan soil, one of Kevin's ideas was actually shaping up to be an actual success. It couldn't be labeled as anything else, not with everyone smiling and Mafala laughing and even Elder B, recently baptized and on his best behavior as a redeemed ex-warlord, leading his former lieutenants in a dance that left everyone surrounding them in a circle, clapping and cheering them on. 

Everything was perfect, only Kevin couldn't get anywhere near Elder McKinley. Every time he tried to approach him, McKinley was suddenly whisked away to join in a dance or to handle some small crisis. It was frustrating at first, and then it was just depressing, and as the evening wore on Kevin started noticing more and more just how many flies were buzzing around, and how the music kept cutting out because the radio was so old and full of static, and how everyone was just wearing their normal everyday clothes, and suddenly none of it seemed that magical, after all. 

* 

"Elder, what's wrong?"

There was a time, even as recently as that morning, when Kevin would have been embarrassed for Elder McKinley to find him sitting on the front step of the mission hut, well away from the music and laughter still going on in the backyard and feeling very sorry for himself. But right now, Kevin didn't even have the energy to do much more than shrug.

Of course, Elder McKinley wasn't the type to take a shrug for an answer. No, he was the sort of person to give someone a friendly clap on the back or nudge them in the side, to try and coax them into speaking. And that was exactly what he did now, dropping onto the step beside him, his arm brushing Kevin's and his smile ready. "Everyone's having so much fun. Only, you don't look like you're having any fun at all. So, come on, tell me what's wrong."

"Nothing, Elder, I'm fine. Really. Everything is fine." Kevin tried to smile, because there was no point in spoiling anyone else's good time, especially not Elder McKinley. Judging by the way McKinley's own smile faltered in response, though, Kevin wasn't exactly successful.

It was back in a minute, and looking as bright as ever as he slung an arm around Kevin's shoulders and tugged him close. He was warm and solid and Kevin tried very hard to breathe and not think about how perfectly he fit, tucked against McKinley's side. "I thought you'd be happy, Elder Price. This was such a great idea that you had, to make so many people so happy. You've had so many wonderful ideas like that lately. You've really brought everyone together."

Normally Kevin loved nothing more than praise; even now, even after everything that had happened on his mission, he still loved having a good idea and receiving credit and appreciation for it. But as always nothing had turned out the way he'd planned, and he felt the old frustration coming back. 

"I didn't want to bring everyone together, I wanted to bring _us_ together."

And that – that wasn't what Kevin had meant to say at all. He did this sometimes, saying the wrong thing, not choosing his words carefully enough if he was frustrated or confused or scared. Or often, all three. Once it had made him lie to his father about a missing donut, another time it had made him tell Arnold that he'd just been stuck with him by the Missionary Training Center. He'd never meant to say either of those things and he hadn't meant to say this, now. 

Beside him McKinley seemed to freeze. Kevin took one glance at his pale, wide-eyed face before he had to turn away, too embarrassed to look at him. A long moment passed, during which Kevin seriously considered leaving and returning to the party, but that only would have made things even more awkward than they already were, and he'd have to face McKinley again sooner or later. There was no hiding from anyone in the mission hut. 

He didn't know what to say or to do to make it better. He'd never been in a situation like this before. 

Finally McKinley's arm slipped from Kevin's shoulder and he slid away, putting some distance between them on the step. "Elder, what does that–" His voice wobbled a little, and he took a breath before continuing. "Elder Price, what do you mean?"

Kevin still didn't know what to say, except for the truth. "All those things – Gotswana's cart, the lanterns, this party – it was all for you. For us. I wasn't thinking about the others at all, I was thinking about you, and how we could spend time together."

"Wait a minute," McKinley said, speaking slowly, like he was trying to piece something together. "Those were supposed to be dates?"

Just when Kevin thought he couldn't be more embarrassed, the world found new ways to surprise him. 

"Disney dates," he muttered, because why not get all the humiliation out of the way at once. 

"Pardon?"

"Well, Disney-inspired. The carriage ride from The Little Mermaid, the lanterns from Tangled. A Cinderella ball. I wanted to do something magical." 

Somehow saying it made it sound even worse than it had in Kevin's head. More pathetic, more childish and just, not _enough_. Not even enough for the guy he'd been trying to date to recognize them as dates. Kevin hung his head and waited for McKinley to laugh, or leave.

Only, he didn't.

Instead a hand landed on his arm, just below his elbow, curling warm and gentle and insistent enough that Kevin finally lifted his head. McKinley looked – he looked like he was going to cry, but he was smiling, and Kevin's heart skipped a beat.

"Elder Price, that's – that's just the sweetest, most wonderful thing anyone's ever done for me. I'm just sorry I didn't see the dates for what they were, at the time. I mean, I'd always _hoped_ but, well. I guess I just never thought you'd – well, that you'd ever – like me. Like that." He was still smiling, a little bashfully now, and his hand was still on Kevin's arm, and Kevin didn't know when he'd started smiling, too, but he found that he couldn't stop. 

"Well, I didn't exactly explain myself very well, or ask you properly," Kevin admitted. "But I do like you. Like that. I think I have from the beginning, I just didn't figure it out it until later." 

He hadn't had a chance, back then. Those first few days in Kitguli had been a whirlwind, and Kevin had still been thinking too much about himself. He'd needed time to settle, in Uganda, in the mission hut, in his own skin. And then when he'd finally noticed his feelings for McKinley, he hadn't known what they meant, or what to do with them. He still didn't. 

"I have no idea what I'm doing," he confessed, and McKinley started to laugh.

"Neither do I," he said, and Kevin started laughing too. 

After everything that had happened, it felt good to laugh with McKinley – with Connor. It was too strange to think of him as Elder McKinley, just now. Connor's hand slid down his arm until they were holding hands, and maybe that should have seemed strange too, but to Kevin, it just felt right. 

Connor cleared his throat. "Would you like to dance?"

His smile seemed shy when Kevin looked over at him, and he gave a little shrug. "All night I've wished I could ask you but I didn't think you'd ever want to, with me." 

Earlier Kevin had wondered if he'd like dancing better if it was with Connor. Now he had his chance to find out. "I'd love to."

Connor pulled him to his feet, and his smile was brighter than Kevin had ever seen it before. They could hear the music still playing in the backyard – it was faint, but someone must have fixed the radio because there was less static now. Kevin didn't recognize the song that was playing but it was slower than the music they'd been listening to earlier, and he let Connor guide him through the steps, one hand in his and the other on his waist, the two of them swaying slowly in the moonlight. 

It didn't take Kevin long to decide that he did like dancing, as long as it was with Connor. 

In a fairy tale, it probably would have been midnight when they first kissed, and they wouldn't have fumbled so much, and Kevin wouldn't have accidentally stepped on Connor's toes. But then Connor wouldn't have laughed away his apologizes and pulled him closer, his lips still curving a warm smile against Kevin's as he kissed him again. 

Kevin didn't know if it was midnight. In the shadow of the mission hut, with music still playing quietly in the background on a warm Uganda night, maybe it was. Or maybe it wasn't. But it still felt magical.

**Author's Note:**

> I browsed through some tutorials and I know it's a lot more complicated to make actual functioning paper lanterns that probably wouldn't blow up in their faces, but, you know. Fairy tale!
> 
> Thank you phantomreviewer for reading this first and encouraging me!


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